LEGO Star Wars: Droid Escape Pod

LEGO continues their push to recreate classic scenes in brick form with their spring releases. Much like the brilliant Carbon-Freezing Chamber, the Droid Escape Pod #75136 provides a nice selection of minifigures (for a small set) at a reasonable ticket price. I’ll break down my thoughts into a few key points.

Minifigures

There are two separate Jawas included with the set. This was a major draw for me since I (shockingly) didn’t have any of the little guys in my sprawling Minifigure collection. The only differentiator between the two is that they have unique weapons. I believe one is intended to replicate the stun device used against R2D2 in A New Hope.

This is the third C3PO to join my collection. It’s not all that different from previous appearances, however, subtle changes in his leg printing were made. I love how much LEGO has advanced their standard level of detail as the years and decades have passed. Here’s a picture of the three I have in my collection – it’s like night and day when comparing the earlier versions to this one and the red armed version from Force Awakens.

The middle one is what comes with the Escape Pod

Confession time…. This is my first “normal” R2D2. I know… I’m a disgrace. I already had the snowman version from the advent calendar but had never grabbed a set that had good ol’ R2. It’s good to have him join my brick horde! Even though I have no tangible basis for comparison, I hear there are enhanced details in the print coloring.

Set/Build

Overall, it’s a pretty simple set. The piece count is low (more on that in the next section) so it won’t take long to get everything together. There are a few interesting techniques in regards to flipping the build around to expand from another direction. The way it is structured for the pod shape with a playable opening is clever.

Its biggest flaw is the reliance on decals… I HATE DECALS. For those of us with meaty paws, placing a detail is like defusing a bomb. Unbeknownst to me, I actually placed one decal without realizing the component needed to be flipped around. Once I flipped it, the little asshole sticker was oriented wrong. An obscenity-filled scratch session fixed the problem, however, that little wrinkled corner made when I peeled it off will always be there laughing at me…

Monkey funking decals

One of the major highlights is the tile piece printed with the Death Star plans. Tiny details like this bring magic to LEGO. From a play standpoint, the Death Star tile inserts into the panel on the pod then can be removed when the droids escape.

The sensor panel is a decal, unfortunately.

Value

There’s a lot to like about this set. It has plenty of playable features with enough minifigures to recreate the scene. I’ve heard many complain that the price point is too high for a set with only 197 pieces. The thing about The Droid Escape Pod, is that the set is almost an afterthought for there being four distinct(ish) minifigures. Had they limited it to one Jawa I think it would need to be a $19.99 set. All things considered, $24.99 isn’t a bad ticket price for what you get.